October 20/07 8:50 am - Cyclo-cross Nationals Preview

Posted by Editor on 10/20/07

Cyclo-cross Nationals Preview

Tomorrow morning the 2007 edition of the Canadian cyclo-cross national championships will get underway here in Kamloops, British Columbia. The Masters-aged categories will take place in the morning, with the Junior Men, Espoir Men, and Elite Men and Women in the afternoon. We will have live coverage of the afternoon races starting at 1:00 pm Pacific time (4:00 pm EDT).

Start lists have not yet been released, but the women's race looks particularly interesting, with mountain bikers Alison Sydor, Catharine Pendrel and Sandra Walter joining perennial favourites Lyne Bessette and Wendy Simms on the start line. Below we have a short video interview with Lyne Bessette, who raced the B.C. provincial championships today, finishing second behind Wendy Simms. Catharine Pendrel took third - actually, second, since Bessette is not eligible for a medal in the provincial championships.

Both Bessette and Simms call the course fast and surprisingly technical. There isn't much climbing, on a circuit that is laid out right downtown in Riverside Park, but organizers have made the most of available terrain, with two barricades at the far end of the course, a couple of short run-ups, and a section through sand along the river that is already getting pretty chewed up and will require running by many.

It was raining heavily yesterday, but cleared up this morning and the track has dried out quickly. The forecast is for continued good weather tomorrow.